Ralph Eads

Ralph (Tony) Eads, 80, of Oak Park, Illinois, died on December 29, 2024 in his Brown County, Indiana home, surrounded by his family. The cause was pancreatic cancer. He has now found out whether it is true, as Oscar Wilde said, that Paris is where good Americans go when they die. Except for the pandemic, he and his wife went there every year for the last 25 years.

He loved being in the Peace Corps in Colombia, where he accomplished pretty much nothing except learning to speak Spanish. He enjoyed his career as a lawyer, which he decided on in eighth grade, based on his enjoyment of arguing. His proudest professional achievement was that he never worked overtime except in the most extreme circumstances. He was an Anglophile (books!) and Francophile (how to live!).

He enjoyed his children, traveling with his wife, riding his bike (on sunny days), sailing (on sunny days with a mild breeze), Mexico, reading, listening to music, going to the theater, movies (many with subtitles and unhappy endings), his Tuesday night poker group, photography, collecting lithographs, playing the piano poorly, cooking, and sitting on the porch on warm days listening to the silence. He found remodeling their big, Victorian house extremely satisfying, and would have liked to have been an architect if he had been at all creative and had any artistic talent. His wife sometimes referred to him as Mr. Every Day is a Sunny Day.

He was, as one of his favorite novelists, Anthony Trollope, said, “addicted to his ease.”

He is survived by his wife, Mary Ellen, sons Christopher, Matthew and Joshua, daughter-in-law Shilpa, granddaughter Peyton, and siblings Charles and Julia.

“What remains of our dead are blurry images, fast-burning flares, shape-changing memories, and their love which is alive in us.” C. Schneck.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (Pancan.org).